Tubing-drainer



F.'ULR|CH.

TUBING DRAINER. AxPLlcATloN FILED, MAY 6. '1918.

1,335,540, Paid Mar. "'30, 1920.

fr? cre/for YUNTTED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE. g

AMFRANK ULRICH, OF HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EDWARD R. BRADBURY, OF HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA.

TUBING-DRAINER.

To all lwhom t may concern Be it known that l, FRANK ULRICH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Huntington Beach, Orange county, alifornia, have invented a new and useful Tubing-Drainer, ofwhich the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to the art of pumping oil wells. In this art as practised in California the interior of the well is lined with a metallic casing which is left permanently in place and which serves to prevent material from falling into the well and closing same. It is common practice to place inside the casing a considerably smaller pipe which is commonly spoken of as the tubing, and which carries the pump at its lower end, the pump being actuated through a string of pump rods which eX- tend upwardly from the pump through the tubing to suitable mechanism at the surface of the ground. The tubing is left in place in the well as long as it is pumping properly. It is often necessary, however, to pull the tubing for the purpose of repairing the pump or in case the pump rods break, as is frequently the case. It is also necessary to pull the tubing whenever lthe pump sands up. This sanding up is caused by the entry of fine silt, or sand, into the pump barrel in sufficient quantity to entirely shut off or seriously interfere with the operation ofthe pump. In cases in which the pump entirely sands up, or in cases in which the rod breaks, the lower end of the tubing is entirely closed, and as it is withdrawn the oil contained therein is also withdrawn. As each joint of tubing is disconnected in the derrick above the surface of the ground, the oil carried therein gushes out of the bottom as soon as the connection with the next lowerV joint is broken thus flooding the derrick and seriously interfering with the work of handling the pipe.

The oil men refer to such a condition as a wet job,7 which name seems peculiarly appropriate.

The principal object of my invention is to provide means by which the lower end of the tubing will automatically open whenever the tubing is pulled so that the tubing will automatically drain itself, and do away with all the disadvantages of a wet job.

Referring to the drawings which are for illustrative purposes only, Figure 1 is a sec- 14 is threaded.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented lllll'. 30, 1920.

Application led May 6, 1918. Serial No. 233,178. I

tion through the'l'lower portion of an oil well showing my invention in place therein, y

1n the form of my invention illustrated in the drawings the. casing of the well is shown at 1l, this casing extending from a point at or near the'surface of the well to a point at or near the bottom of the well. This casing may be perforated with holes as is commonly done to allow the oil to enter, or the oil may enter through the bottom. Hanging inside the casing 11 is a string of tubing 1-2, thc lower end of the tubing 12 being provided with a. collar 13 into which the valve barrel This valve barrel is pro-- vided with an upper collar 15 anda lower collar 16 which are rigidly secured thereon. It may be connected through a collar 17 with joints of tubing 18. The pump barrel l-l is valve 20b'eing bored or turned so that .itfis a fairly accurate *fit on the barrelv 14. Formed in the' barrel 14 are a plurality of holes 21. The barrel 14 and thevvalve 2O are of such a le/ngt-h thatwiththe valve 20 in its lower position as shown in Fig. 2, in whichv it rests against the collar 17, the holes 21 are exposed, and with the valve 20 in its upper position resting against the collar 16 the holes 21 are approximately in the center of the valve 20. Rigidly secured to the valve 20 are a pair of springs 30 which carry hooks 31 at their upper end and which are so formed that these hooks tend lto rest against and slide on the barrel 1l. The location of these hooks is such that they will snap over the collar 16 when the valve 20 is in its upper position. As .shown in Fig. 1 friction arms 32 which are formed of spring steel are also secured to the valve 20. these arms being of such a size that they will slide in and frictionally engage the casing 11 sliding on the barrel 14. Between the collars 15 and 16 is a ring l()l which is provided with friction arms 41 formed of spring material and of such a shape that they will slide in and frictionally engage the casing -turnedor ground so that it is an accurate `cylinder and a valve :20 is placed thereon,

the string. During 1ts passage downwardly through the casing the parts are in the posii tion shown in Fig. 1, the ring 40 being held .means to permit said v.

in its upper position by the friction of the arms 41, and the valve 20 being held in its upper position by the hooks 31. In this position the holes 21 arefentirely closed', and whenever the tubing finally reaches the bottom of the well the pump may be started and will pump oil through the tubing 12 1n accordance with the 4standard practice. lVhenever it is desired to pull tubing the valve 21 opens automatically so that the tubing automatically drains itself. The sequence of this opening is .as follows:

The ring 40 is to the friction of the arms 41 forcing the hooks 31 outwardly and releasing them from the ring 16. As soon as the hooks 31 are released any further upward movement of the tubing 12 inside the easing 11 tends to pull the valve 20 downwardly due to the frictional engagement of the arms 32. As soon as the valve 20 is pulled to-its eXtreme lower position the holes 21 are entirely open and the oil in the tubing automatically discharges therethrough. no particular attention needs to be paid to my invention as -it functions. automaticallyr at the proper times.l

I claim as my invention:

1.'In an oil well, a string of tubing, a valve barrel connected in and forming a portion of said tubing, L:aid valve barrel having an opening therethrough, a valve member slidably arranged, to close said opening, means on said valve member'arranged to frictionally engage the inside of a casing surrounding said tubing, means on for engaging the tubing, ing said engaging ve member to slide uncover the openthe valve member and means for d1senga on said valve barrel and i ug therein.

2. In an oil well, a string of tubing, a valve barrel connected in and forming a portion of said tubing, said valve barrel havf. ing an opening therethrough, a valve mempressed downwardly due` It will be seen that ber slidably arranged to close said opening, means on said valve member arranged to frictionally engage the inside of a casing surrounding said tubing, a collar fixed on said valve barrel, elastic means on said valve member for engaging said collar, and means on said collar for disengaging said elastic means from the collar.

3. In an oil well, a string of tubing, a valve barrel connected in and forming a portion of said tubing, said valve barrel having an opening therethrough, a valve member slidably arranged to close said opening, meanson said valve member arranged to frictionally engage the inside of a cason said valve barrel, springson said valve l member, hooksl formed on said springs arranged to engage said collar, and means for disengaging said hooks from said collar to permit the valve member to slide on said valve barrel to uncover the opening therein.

4. In an oil well, a string of tubing, a valve barrel connected in and forming a portion of said tubing, said valve barrel having an opening therethrough, a valve member slidably arranged to close said opening, means-on said valve member arranged to frictionally engage the inside of a casing surrounding said tubing,

ber, hooks formed on said springs arranged to engage said collar, a ring slidable on said valve barrel arranged to disengage said hooks from the collar, means on said rin arranged to frictionally engage the inside of said casing, upward movement of the ring on the valve barrel.

5. In an oil well, a string of tubing, a valve barrel connected in and forming an immovable portion of the tubing, said valve barrel having openings therein, a; valve member' slidably mounted on said barrel, the engaging faces of the barrel and valve member being ground to form asliding fit therebetween, means for limiting the movement of the valve member on the valve barrel, and means operated by the upward movement of the tubing to slide the valve member on the barrel to uncover the openings therein.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set myhand at untington Beach, California, this 26th day of April, 1918.

FRANK ULRICH.

a collar fixed on said valve barrel, springs on said valve memand means for limiting the 

